For Tamaqua boys basketball coach Jim Barron and girls basketball coach Erika (Barron) Davis, home is definitely where the heart is.

The two former Raiders basketball standouts have been fighting tooth and nail in their first season as leaders of the blue and white to bring home some wins to Raider nation.One thing for sure is that it hasn't been easy. Times have been tough on the hardwood for both of the Raiders' programs this season. The boys are currently 4-13 while the girls are 2-14.The Lady Raiders have missed the postseason each of the last two years, while Barron and his bunch are trying to rebuild from losing two 1,000-point scorers in Brett Kosciolek and Bo Rottet a season ago.It's never easy to turn around or rebuild a program, but a hometown approach could be just the answer the girls and boys Tamaqua basketball programs are looking for."It's really exciting to come back to a place and be the head coach of somewhere you played and where you have so much pride in the community," said Barron. "The community support for both Erika and I has been overwhelming and when you have the whole town behind you, hoping that you succeed, it makes the job even better."Lady Raiders coach Erika Davis also admitted that being able to coach her alma mater is a dream come true."Coaching at Tamaqua is something that I've always wanted. I grew up here, played here, and now I teach here. Tamaqua is where I belong, it just fits, and I want to bring the same passion and love for the game that I have to our program."If resumes are any indication as to ability of Barron and Davis to turnaround their respective programs, then these two will be just fine.Anybody that knows Tamaqua basketball knows who Erika Davis (then Barron) is. She's the school's all-time leading scorer, having tallied 2,317 points. Davis then went on to a successful academic and athletic career at Susquehanna University. Davis led Susquehanna in scoring her senior season, scoring just under 14 points per game.Barron was a two-year starter for the Raiders at point guard, averaging 15.6 points per game in his senior campaign. Where Barron really made his mark in the game was at Elizabethtown College under Tamaqua native and Marian High School graduate Bob Schlosser.Barron was a two-year starter at point guard for the Blue Jays and was also part of the team in 2001-02 that finished as the Division III national runner-up.Both Barron and Davis have an impressive basketball pedigree and most of all a drive for the game that they hope to instill in every player that comes through the Tamaqua basketball programs."Playing this game my whole life has taught me a lot, not only about the game, but also about life," said Barron. "I've learned a lot from all my coaches, especially Coach Schlosser. He was a great mentor to me and a lot of the stuff we do is stuff I learned while at Elizabethtown."Of course I put my own spin on some things, but my main goal is to turn this program into one of the toughest programs in the Schuylkill League. I want coaches to cringe when they know they have to play us, because they know they're in for a battle."Coach Davis also wants to put her own touch on the Lady Raiders program."Once we start to have a better grasp on the game itself, I want this program to be known as a program based on defense and pushing the basketball. We have girls here that play really hard and that work really hard. They've handled adversity very well this season."They don't put their heads down and their attitudes are great. I think we can have a bright future here."From just talking to or watching both Barron and Davis on the sidelines, it's easy to see that their pride for the blue and white stretches well beyond the basketball court. It stretches from the always busy Broad Street, to the Bungalow basketball courts and community pool, and up Stadium Hill to Tamaqua High School where they both made unforgettable memories and in the future hope to create many more.*****SHARP SHOOTERS ... Northern Lehigh's Evan Meixsell buried five three-pointers last Wednesday against Palisades, Weatherly's Gary Buck drained five treys against Williams Valley last Thursday, and Weatherly's Shelby Berger knocked down five triples on Tuesday night against Schuylkill Haven to lead this week's list of long-ball specialists. Meixsell and Buck are the 10th and 11th boys, respectively, in the Times News coverage area to connect for five or more three-pointers in a game this season, while Berger became the first local girl this season to accomplish the feat. Jim Thorpe's Brendan Carroll and Weatherly's Zach Moon top the single-game charts with seven three-pointers apiece.*****DEFENSIVE INJUSTICE ... The Marian girls basketball team prides itself on defense, and the Fillies put on a clinic last Thursday in a 61-17 victory over Schuylkill Haven. After allowing nine points in the first quarter, the Fillies allowed just eight points the rest of the game. However, the most impressive stat of the contest was when Marian's smothering full-court pressure defense forced a turnover on 17 consectutive Schuylkill Haven possessions.*****A PERFECT 11 ... Going back a week, Tamaqua's Thad Zuber went 11-for-11 at the foul line during an 87-53 loss to Blue Mountain on Tuesday, January 12. Among Times News area boys, that's the most free throws made in a game this season without a miss. The last time a Blue Raider made that many free throws in a game without missing any was back on December 12, 1997, when Nick Colicigno was a perfect 12-for-12 at the charity stripe.*****A NUMBERS GAME ... When it comes to scoring points, nobody does it better than Kayley Kovac. Last Thursday, the Jim Thorpe sophomore scored a career-high 35 points in a 64-31 victory over Tamaqua. Kovac's previous career-high was 34 points, accomplished on three separate occassions last year. The 35-point outburst marked the fourth time this season that Kovac has scored 30 or more points in a game, which follows up a freshman season which saw her reach the 30-point mark eight times. In fact, in 38 career games, Kovac has only ever scored less than 14 points in a game one time (a nine-point performance against North Schuylkill last season).*****WORKING OVERTIME ... On Saturday, the Marian boys took Lincoln Leadership Academy to four overtimes before falling, 49-45. With the score tied at 36-36 at the end of regulation, no points where scored by either team in the first, second or third overtime session. Lincoln Leadership Academy then outscored the Colts 13-9 in the fourth overtime period to secure the win. According to Times News records (dating back to the 1988-89 season), Marian has never played in a game that went beyond two overtimes. The Colts played in four double-overtime games (2007, 2009, 2010 and 2013). The last time a Times News area team played in a game that went at least four overtimes was back on February 1, 2012, when the Pleasant Valley girls lost to Liberty, 67-63.*****THREE TICKETS PUNCHED ... As the basketball season begins to make its way down the home stretch, several Times News teams have begun punching their tickets to the District 11 playoffs. The first team to qualify for a district berth was the Marian Fillies (14-2), who used a 49-31 victory over Tri-Valley on Monday, Jan. 11, to earn a spot in the Class AA bracket. The second area team to qualify was the Jim Thorpe girls (11-6), who advanced to the Class AAA field with a 64-31 victory over Tamaqua last Thursday. Lehighton (11-5) was the first area boys team to earn an automatic district bid, as the Indians qualified for the Class AAA tournament with a 60-45 victory over Northwestern on Saturday.*****Every Thursday during the winter sports season, The Times News will publish its annual basketball notebook reflecting back on the week that was, and highlighting both individual and team accomplishments, as well as interesting information that may have occurred in games from the previous seven days. Today's notebook will look back on all the happenings from last Wednesday up through this past Tuesday. Times News sports writer Jason Boris will once again be handling the compilation of notes and is encouraging all local head coaches to email him with noteworthy information that can be used in this column. Emails can be sent to

jboris@tnonline.com.Jason Boris and Rod Heckman also contributed to this story.